GREECE | 03.02.2012
'Anonymous' hackers breach Greek ministry website
The loosely organized activist hacker group Anonymous breached the website of Greece's justice ministry on Friday, posting a message that sharply criticized the international bailout package and attached austerity measures as an attack on democracy.
"You have introduced a new dictatorship upon your people's shoulders and allowed the bankers and the monarchs of the EU to enslave them both economically and politically," the group's message said.
"You have joined the IMF (International Monetary Fund) against your people's acquiescence…democracy was given birth in your country but now you have killed it," the hackers added.
Anonymous also criticized Athens for joining the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a deal signed on January 26 to create international standards for intellectual property protection.
The austerity measures have caused social unrest in GreeceCeding sovereignty
German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently distanced herself from a controversial German proposal that would have effectively suspended Greece's sovereignty for a period of time by placing its national budget under the control of a commissioner appointed by the eurozone's finance ministers. Merkel called instead for "long-term monitoring."
On Monday, 25 of the EU's 27 member states endorsed the so-called fiscal compact, which calls for the 17 eurozone members to cede some of their sovereignty over national budgets to Brussels.
Greece remains locked in negotiations with creditors over a plan to write down at least 50 percent of its 200 billion euros ($263 billion) in privately held debt. Disagreements remain over how high the interest rate should be. The write-down is a precondition for Greece to receive its second bailout of 130 billion euros.
slk/acb (Reuters, AFP)
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